I have stood in the vineyards in Darling which provides the grapes for this wine. It was a mid-season day, up on a hill with valleys going down to the Atlantic Ocean. The Benguela Current in the ocean is one which sweeps up from the Antarctic and creates cool breezes which ameliorate the summer heat in the vineyards and allow for a longer hang time to ripening, thus building up flavour in the grapes.

No doubt as to why it’s called Fairview

The vines from which the grapes for the Fairview Darling Sauvignon Blanc 2016 come, are planted with trellising which makes machine harvesting possible. The vineyards are dry land farmed with no irrigation applied during the ripening period.

The grapes are machine harvested and arrive in the cellar before sunrise. They were stripped from the stalks and then gently whole berry pressed. The juice is cold settled for 48 hours and then fermented in stainless steel tanks. The wine was matured on its fine lees after fermentation before being prepared for bottling.

Perfect Sauvignon Blanc grapes, ripening on the vine

It looks likeBottled in a clear bottle with the elegant Fairview Label. In the glass, a gem bright pale straw with lime green overlay.

It’s good with
This is the ideal refresher. Perfect for mid-morning and excellent with saladings, smoked fish, oysters and sushi. Making sushi at home is not easy, so I suggest you serve Nina Timm’s Home Cured Trout with Red Onions, Lime & Wasabai Vinaigrette. Click here for her recipe.

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As a young aspiring chef, Michael laid a solid foundation for his career at the Cordon Bleu Cooking School in London. Over the next 30 years he had a series of high profile hospitality management posts, was the Public Relations Manager for Boschendal and ran three successful restaurants in the Cape, one of which, Parks, featured in the national top 10 restaurants.

Michael is a family man, author and broadcaster.

A lifetime devoted to the promotion and appreciation of the South African wine and food industry has earned him many accolades, including the Lannice Snyman Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 Eat Out Awards.

Michael continues to be prolific, informative and entertaining on his wine and food website, michaelolivier.co.za and on his wine site, wine4friends.co.zawhich sells specially chosen wine boxes.